


Soot-Covered Fingers

by ladylangst



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh (Avatar) loves Tea, Long-Haired Zuko (Avatar), Multi, Oblivious Zuko (Avatar), Parental Hakoda (Avatar), Platonic Soulmates, Soulmates, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27511567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladylangst/pseuds/ladylangst
Summary: When someone's bending turns against them, it moves slowly. For fire benders, the first sign is usually soot on the tips of their fingers.Soulmate AU
Relationships: Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Suki & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Sokka
Comments: 8
Kudos: 105





	1. Icebergs and Flames

**Author's Note:**

> This is new idea that I wrote in my lit lecture! Let me know what you think!!!

Glaciers rise like giants in the still waters of the South. They flank every side of the ship, reflecting the weakened beams of the sun. They could almost be considered beautiful, if they didn’t remind him that he was so far from home. Zuko closes his eyes and works silently with his Uncle as they move through the stances of the fifth-level fire bending forms.

They don’t use any fire. Zuko hasn’t mastered these forms yet, and Uncle has been pressuring him to refrain from bending unless it’s absolutely necessary. Zuko thinks that he’s worrying too much. He can control his bending perfectly fine, even if it is turning against him. 

He breathes out slowly and wills his inner fire to spread throughout his body and warm his stiff limbs. He slides into the next stance too quickly, and Uncle shoots him a look. 

“Prince Zuko,” He says quietly, “You must take care not to rush the rhythm of the motions. Each stance is part of a set, and if you rush one stance, the others will all fall out of alignment as well.” 

“I’ve got it, Uncle.” Zuko scowls and forces himself to measure his movements more carefully. They’ve been working on these forms for two weeks, and Zuko doesn’t want to risk spending another week on them just because Uncle thought he wasn’t aligned right. 

Uncle lets the issue go, and they keep working. They continue moving through the stances until they finish the set of forms, and Uncle lets a satisfied smile slip onto his face. Zuko manages to force himself to stop frowning. A crewman approaches them quickly, carrying a small slip of paper in his hand. 

“General Iroh,” He greets Zuko’s uncle, before turning to Zuko, “Prince Zuko, lieutenant Jee has asked me to inform you that we should reach the village in about an hour. He’s already instructed the men to start preparing, but he thought you would like to be informed as well.” 

“Thank you. You may go.” Zuko says shortly. The crewman hurriedly walks away, and Uncle starts pulling his robe back over his training clothes. Zuko shivers slightly and begins to follow suit. 

Uncle finishes up quickly and starts heading towards the entrance to the mess hall, probably to sneak away some tea leaves while the cook is distracted, but Zuko reaches out and grabs his arm. “Uncle-” he starts, “Do you think it’s really him this time?”

His Uncle looks at him closely before letting out a sigh. “I’m not sure Prince Zuko, but it does your mind good to hope for the best.” He squeezes Zuko’s hand gently and then leaves him alone on the deck. 

Somehow, Zuko isn’t comforted.

They reach the village in forty minutes. Ice cracks like an eggshell beneath the iron hull of Zuko’s ship. The blackened mass of metal creeps dangerously close to the small town that they’re docking at, causing shouts of alarm to echo up from the ground. 

Luckily, the ship stops just before the wall of snow that lines the area. He keeps his face carefully blank, and lets out a sigh of relief. Zuko doesn’t even want to think about what a nightmare this would be if he accidentally injured one of the villagers. Uncle shifts slightly beside him, and Zuko knows that he’s relieved too, even though it’s probably for different reasons.

Uncle makes a fuss at every place they stop, insisting that they respect the local culture and refrain from making any enemies. Zuko thinks it’s pointless. No matter what he does, most everyone will see him as an enemy, even his own people. He still tries not to do too much damage, if only for his Uncle’s happiness.

Sometimes, even if he’d never admit it, he thinks that Uncle cares more for the safety of the other nations than he does for Zuko. The thought makes a bitter smile twist his mouth. It would make sense. Why would Uncle want to be banished along with Zuko if he didn’t have any ulterior motives?

The gangplank falls to the ground with a loud clang, startling Zuko. He shoves his thoughts to the back of his mind, and gives his men a slight nod. They get into position behind him and pull their masks down over their faces. After a moment of hesitation, he begins the descent to the village. Their steps sound like blasts in the silence. 

The cold air bites at Zuko’s face, pinching at the puckered skin of his scar. He knows that he’s glaring, but he doesn’t care. It’s not like he’d look much better if he were smiling. He hears shuffling below, and he looks down.

The villagers are huddled together a few feet from the base of his ship. They’re watching Zuko and his men approach with worry etched on their faces. It’s strange. Some of the older women are even shielding their children behind themselves. He shoves down the pit forming in his stomach, and makes an effort to soften his expression. He doesn’t think it works.

When they reach the ground, everyone stays still for a moment. Then, a warrior, who’s probably close to Zuko’s age, comes running at them with an exaggerated shout. He’s covered in tribal war paint, and he’s brandishing a club above his head, but his stance is unstable. Zuko scoffs slightly. He doubts that the teen has ever been in combat. 

As soon as he gets close, Zuko ducks and grabs the other teen. He uses the warrior’s force against him and redirects the fool into a pile of snow. He lands with his legs in the air and his face buried. It might not be the most diplomatic solution, but at least no one is hurt. The people in the village start to whisper among themselves, drawing even closer together. He can feel his exasperation rising.

They gather themselves behind an older woman with wise eyes and a strong frown. Zuko assumes that she’s the leader of the village. He approaches her confidently, holding his head high. Snow crunches underneath his boots as he goes, and for a second he wishes he had the same fur-padded boots as the villagers. He pretends not to hear the whispers about his scar.

He stops in front of the leader, and he meets her eyes with a slight dip of his chin. “My name is Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation.” He says, pausing when the crowd’s panic seems to get worse. At least it’s a tamer reaction than some people have. “Give us any information you have on the Avatar, and we’ll leave in peace.”

The woman stares at him with eyes that see right through him, and she seems to find him lacking. “We don’t know anything about the Avatar, except that he’s been missing for a hundred years. Take your ship, and leave our village alone.” Her tone is icier than the land they’re standing on. 

He clenches his fists and looks to the rest of the villagers. “If any of you have information on the Avatar, step forward now, and we’ll leave your village. If not,” he reaches forward and grasps the old woman harshly, dragging her to his side, “I’ll be taking her with me instead.”

Several members of the village gasp, and two grab hold of a girl to prevent her from running up to help the old woman. She glares viciously at Zuko. He ignores her. He’s used to it at this point. All that matters is getting the Avatar, and then going home. The good opinions of these people are useless. He repeats his question.

“We don’t know anything! Please, leave us alone!” Someone shouts from the back of the crowd. 

Zuko growls, frustrated, and shoves the old woman back into the crowd. This isn’t working. “I know you’re hiding him!” He shouts, smoke rising from his clenched fists. It drifts into the clear air, and the villagers fall silent again. Maybe there is something that can get them to talk. He lets flames flicker over his fingertips, ignoring the slight burning sensation that he feels. 

They just stare at him silently. What is it with these people? He knows that they’re afraid, but they still won’t tell him anything! Why can’t they just help him? He whirls around and bends a blast of fire into the side of an icy wall, breathing heavily.   
“Where is he?” He shouts again, desperately, voice crackling in the cold, thin air. “Tell me!” An arc of fire flares over the heads of the villagers. People duck, and fall to the ground shrieking, but no one says anything. This isn’t going to work.

Zuko’s breaths come faster, puffing out into the air with tendrils of smoke. His men shift quietly behind him. They’re probably irritated with him. Zuko blinks furiously, trying to get rid of the burning in his good eye. It’s ridiculous. He should have better control. Azula would never lose it like this, but he can’t help it. 

It doesn’t make sense. This can’t be it. He wants to go home, no, he needs to go home. They have to know something, don’t they? There was that glowing beam of light, and then there was a figure that jumped from the abandoned ship. Those can’t be coincidences.

He turns to look at his Uncle, and the man shakes his head at him with a solemn frown tugging at his mouth. Zuko wants to hit him. How can Uncle be so calm? He looks like he expected this. He probably knew this would be another one of Zuko’s failures. 

Zuko turns back around and looks over the villagers one more time, looking each person in the eyes. All he sees is fear, and he knows that they’re as resigned as he is. 

After another minute of staring in silence, he sighs and stalks over to the woman who had crumpled to the ground. He reaches out a hand to help her up, but he’s jerked aside by a whirlwind of freezing arctic air. 

Excited chattering breaks out among the people as Zuko regains his footing. He whips around frantically, searching the village with more hope than he’s had in three years. When he finally sees him, he stops. 

A boy dressed in the clothes of an air nomad rides up to Zuko on an orb of swirling air.

“Looking for me?” He asks calmly. 


	2. A Sky Bison Comes to Ruin Zuko's Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! Let me know what you think! I had a hard time with the action in this chap, but I think it turned out alright! I hope you like it!

Zuko stands with his Uncle on the deck, while his crewmen take the Avatar down to one of the holding cells. For all of the trouble that Zuko’s had finding him, the Avatar decided to come with them fairly easily. It's strange. All that Zuko had to do was promise not to harm the villagers. It's one of the most reasonable demands that Zuko has been given. 

The ship rumbles loudly as it begins to move, and the small village starts to slip behind them. Zuko's relieved that they're leaving. He's never liked the cold, and the South Pole is miserable. He glances down at his hands and bites back a groan of frustration. They’re covered in thick, black soot. He rubs his fingertips together with a bitter taste in his mouth. The ashes smear like charcoal on his skin.

This probably isn’t a good sign. He didn’t even bend that much. There were just a few blasts. Uncle’s worry will be unbearable if he finds out about this.

Zuko tugs the sleeves of his shirt down as far as they can go, hoping that it will hide the problem. The red fabric looks like blood against his pale pale skin, but at least it’s better than the ash. Anything is better than the ash. It reminds him too much of-

His Uncle clears his throat beside him, and Zuko looks up to find the man staring at him with a concerned look. The prince lifts his chin and narrows his eye defiantly, daring him to say something. 

Uncle sighs. “Go get cleaned up, Prince Zuko.” He says quietly. “I’ll make sure that the Avatar doesn’t escape in your absence.” Zuko nods, and starts heading below deck. He pretends not to notice how tired his Uncle sounds. Zuko's worried about him. The man has had a hard time because of Zuko, but there isn't much he can do to make it up to him while he's still banished.

The corridors below deck are warm and quiet. The light filtering through the lanterns makes the walls glow red, and it reminds Zuko of home. Most of the crew is preparing the ship for the journey home and watching over the Avatar, so Zuko’s able to get to his room without running into anyone else. 

He slips into his chambers and pulls the door shut tightly behind him. He doesn’t have a sink in his room, but he does keep a small basin of water for this very reason. It’s not like the crew isn’t aware of his condition, but they aren’t aware of how much it’s progressing. Zuko doesn’t intend to let them in on it any time soon, either. He doesn't need their pity, and it's none of their business.

He walks over to the small bowl resting next to his bed and kneels in front of it. The water is clear and cool, but it clouds up faster than a storm when Zuko dips his hands in. The soot still clings to him. It makes the ache in his chest worse. He frowns and scrubs at his skin viciously, refusing to stop until there’s blood in the water.

Then, he rips his hands out of the bowl and leans back on his heels. He takes a deep breath and grabs a towel from the small stack resting next to the basin. The soft material aggravates his raw skin. Zuko knows that he’ll regret this later. The last time he did this, Uncle wouldn’t leave him alone for days. He kept going on about the importance of restraint, or something.

Zuko tosses the towel aside and stands. He should probably change and go back out to keep watch over the situation. Despite being at sea for three years, this is the first time that his crew has had to deal with a prisoner. Zuko doesn’t want anything to slip past his notice.

He’s halfway through changing his shirt, when his door slams open and closed, allowing a small boy to fly in. The Avatar sighs softly, and slumps in relief. Zuko stares in shock, arms still raised to pull his shirt on. Someone is getting fired for this. Zuko doesn’t care how sparse his crew is. 

The Avatar straightens and turns to take in the room, glancing over the tidy bed and bare desk. He freezes when his eyes meet Zuko’s. Zuko feels his good eye narrow, and doesn’t even try to stop the scowl from hardening his face. He yanks his shirt over his head.

The air bender stares at him with big, nervous eyes. One is dark grey, while the other has fragments of green, gold, and white sectioned off into fifths. Two of the sections are already grey. He must have found two of the five, then. 

Zuko’s mouth tastes like ash. He used to have five soulmates. 

He swallows hard and forces himself to start speaking. “It looks like I underestimated you.”

The Avatar opens his mouth to reply, but Zuko stops him with a stream of fire to the face. The boy narrowly jumps out of the way, shouting in alarm. Zuko doesn’t give him a chance to recover. He shoots blast after blast at the air bender, cornering him next to the desk.

The kid stares at him, shaking, before vaulting over his head. Zuko spins around, kicking out with a swirl of flames, but the kid isn’t there. He hears something move behind him, and Zuko twists again. The Avatar stays behind him as they fight, almost dancing across the room. Fire lights up the walls, flashing shadows on the walls. 

By the time he notices that they’re close to the door, it’s too late. The Air bender darts into the hall, running with wind on his feet. Zuko yells in anger and rushes after him, leaving his chambers in flames.

He pursues the Avatar up onto the deck. Several members of the crew duck as the kid flips over them. His Uncle is sitting by the railing, a cup of tea in his hands, and the Avatar’s staff resting on his lap. The Avatar lands right in front of Uncle and snatches the staff before the man can blink. 

Zuko uses the last of his willpower to stop himself from facepalming. If he didn’t know how loyal his Uncle was to the Fire Nation, he’d think that the man was purposefully trying to sabotage him sometimes.

The Avatar rushes to the head of the ship, probably to try and leap off of the highest point he can. Zuko sprints after him. He jumps and swings himself on top of the edge of the helm’s cabin. He runs along it, following the path of the Avatar as he runs below him. Just as the kid takes off, Zuko launches himself onto the back of the glider, knocking them to the ground.

Zuko forces himself to his feet, stumbling slightly as his head spins. The kid pulls himself up quickly too, and gets into the weakest fighting stance that Zuko’s ever seen. It’s almost laughable. He would’ve expected better from an airbender, especially a master. He takes a deep breath, preparing to bend, when a thundering growl sounds overhead. 

Zuko knows that whatever is making that noise can’t be good, but he turns around anyways. Flying next to the ship is a giant, fur-covered monster. He gapes. “What is that?” he asks. 

“Appa! You came back!” The Avatar exclaims. Zuko looks back to him and shoots a stream of fire at the kid. He dodges, and then he dashes for the edge of the ship again. The Avatar leaps into the air with his glider, heading straight for the flying bison. Zuko snarls and fires off the biggest ball of fire he can manage. It misses, but it knocks the kid off balance. He drops like a rock, slamming into the ship’s railing, and tumbling into the icy water below. 

Zuko’s eye widens in shock, and he rushes over to the railing. He vaguely hears the water tribe teens shouting from on top of the Avatar’s pet, but he ignores them. He peers into the dark waters, searching desperately for any sign of the kid. He didn’t want to kill the kid. He just wants to go home. If he loses him now, he won’t get the chance again for years. 

Suddenly, a swirling stream of water shoots out of the sea. It towers over the ship, spraying his crew as it spins faster and faster. Zuko looks up and meets the glowing eyes of the Avatar. He doesn’t even have time to panic before the mass of water is slamming down on his ship. 

For a second, Zuko is somewhere else. He’s at the feet of his father, looking up at him with tears streaming down his cheeks. He mumbles something that Zuko can’t hear, and then brings his hand down on Zuko’s eye. It burns. It’s burning him. He-

Zuko shakes his head and coughs up water. His body trembles, and he tries to shake off the rush of fear and panic that comes over him. He’s on his ship, and his father isn’t here. Everything is fine. It’s fine.

There are various shouts from around the deck. Zuko, coughs again and rolls onto his side. He spots his Uncle a few feet away, also drenched with icy water. This is a disaster. He stumbles up onto his feet, coughing violently. His ears are ringing slightly and the world tilts. He has to keep trying. He needs to capture the Avatar. He needs to go home. He summons the last of his strength, and then he’s running after the Avatar again. 

He doesn’t remember much from the rest of the fight, but by the end of it the Avatar has escaped with his friends, and half of Zuko’s men are frozen to the deck. The water bender had done a number on them. Zuko didn’t fight her personally, but she caused most of the damage to his ship with her crude bending. The other kid had only managed to knock Zuko around, and he wasn’t exactly at his best. He should have been.

Zuko shivers in his armor, trying to even out his breathing and spread his inner fire throughout his numb limbs. Once he feels more stable, he moves across the deck to help his Uncle with their frozen crew. 

Six of his best fighters are frozen in jagged spires of ice that twist up from a sheet on the ground. Zuko goes over to the closest man and brings a flame to his palm, rotating it above the ice. After a few seconds, he looks up and finds the guy staring at him. He’s one of the younger soldiers, Zuko thinks he might be eighteen, and he still has mismatching eyes. Zuko clears his throat and shifts in place.

“Are you alright? Did the water bender manage to injure you anywhere else?” He asks, trying to sound friendly. He thinks he probably just sounds annoyed. His voice is raw and crackly from all of the shouting and salt-water-swallowing that he’s done today. 

The man blinks at him before sputtering out an answer. “Y-yeah, um, Prince Zuko-sir.” He bites his lip and turns red. “I mean, uh- I’m fine. Except for being frozen, that is.”

Zuko nods and continues to melt the ice surrounding the man. He looks up every few seconds to check that he isn’t hurting him, and he tries to check on the other soldiers too. Most of the crew has gathered on the deck to help free the trapped men, and the non-benders have started clearing away debris. 

Zuko doesn’t expect the crewman that he’s helping to speak again, but when he’s finally free, he steps up to Zuko and bows quickly. 

“Thank you, Prince Zuko.” He says with a smile. Then he bites his lip again, and shuffles his feet. “Are you okay too, sir? Have you had anyone check you over yet?” He won’t meet Zuko’s eyes, but he speaks clearly. It’s surprising. He’s never had this happen before. Zuko’s crew doesn’t usually care to ask how he’s doing, and it’s never occurred to him that they ever would. 

“I haven’t been checked over, but I’ll have my Uncle do it when everything else is in order. Thank you, you can go back to your room and rest for the day, or grab some peppered cocoa from the kitchen. I’ll send the others in after you in a few minutes.”

The soldier bows again and smiles, before hurrying to get below deck. Zuko sighs and turns back to survey the situation. All of the men are free now, and Uncle is also trying to usher them below deck. The prince decides to leave him to his task, and approaches the group of upper-ranking officers that are gathered by the mass of ice and snow that’s burying the deck. 

They look up when he approaches, and give stiff bows. Zuko straightens his spine and lets a scowl slip onto his face. “What’s the current situation, Lieutenant Jee?” He asks. He doesn’t try to sound pleasant this time. He doubts Jee would appreciate it if he did. 

The man looks down at him with a sneer and quirks his brow. “Well, aside from the damage caused by your fight, everything is in decent shape.” He pauses to look over the deck once more. “We should have this cleared up in about an hour, and then we can start sailing to the nearest harbor for more extensive repairs.”

Zuko nods. “Alright. That’s good. Let my Uncle know if any other complications come up. I’ll brief the helmsman for you.” He starts heading toward the main cabin of the ship to look for said helmsman, when one of the other officers stops him. 

“Excuse me, Prince Zuko, but I was wondering if you were planning to return to the village? We left in peace because the Avatar came with us, but he broke his word. Are we going to retaliate?”

Zuko stops in his tracks. That’s right. The Avatar did break his word. Zuko has every right to storm back into that village and burn it to the ground. He thinks of the people there. The women and children were scared half to death with his first visit, and if he’s remembering correctly, their only warrior just flew off on the sky bison. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. 

“No. Our repairs take first priority, and we need to start tracking the Avatar before he gets too far away. Go help with the repairs, and take any further orders from Lieutenant Jee.” he says shortly. The man frowns, but nods and walks away. 

It wouldn’t be right to go attack those people while they’re defenseless, besides, they weren’t the ones to break their word, the air bender did. Zuko scowls. He always thought that the Avatar would have more honor than that. It’s kind of disappointing. At least his bending prowess seems to measure up to the legends. Zuko hasn’t seen bending that powerful since he left the palace. The Avatar must be a true master. 

At least he’ll be easier to track now. Zuko feels full of hope, even if the Avatar got away this time. Zuko had him, and he can get him back. He reaches out and grasps the handle of the door to the helmsman’s cabin, gasping quietly when he sees his hand. 

The entire palm of his hand is stained black with soot. 

He swallows the lump forming in his throat and opens the door. He can deal with this later. 


End file.
